With Christ on Mission

Section III: Incarnational Spirituality

Second Sunday of Lent:

Love of God our Lord as Chief Bond in the Society

††††††††††† Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.† (1 Cor 12:4-6)

†††††††††††† Constitutions, Part VIII

[671]††† On both sides, the chief bond to cement the union of the members among themselves and with their head is the love of God our Lord.† For when the superior and the subjects are closely united to his Divine and Supreme Goodness, they will very easily be united among themselves, through that same love which will descend from the Divine Goodness and spread to all other persons, and particularly to the body of the Society.† Thus charity will come to further this union between superiors and subjects, and in general all goodness and virtues through which one proceeds in conformity with the spirit.† Consequently there will be also total contempt of temporal things, in regard to which self-love, the chief enemy of this union and universal good, frequently induces disorder.

††††††††††† Still another great help can be found in uniformity, both interior uniformity of doctrine, judgments, and wills, as far as this is possible [K], and exterior uniformity in respect to clothing, ceremonies of the Mass, and other such matters, to the extent that the different qualities of persons, places, and the like permit.

†††††††††††† Complementary Norms, Part VIII

††††††††††† ß2.† What especially helps toward fostering communion among all members of the Society is an attitude of mind and heart that esteems and welcomes each member as a brother and friend in the Lord, because “[w]hat helps most…toward this end must be, more than any exterior constitution, the interior law of love and charity which the Holy Spirit writes and engraves in our hearts.”††††††

Monday, Second Week of Lent:

Familiarity with God in Prayer

Now during those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. †(Lk 6:12)

†††††††††††† Constitutions, Part VI

[582]††† 1.† Given the length of time and approbation of their life which are required before admission into the Society among the professed and also the formed coadjutors, it is presupposed that those so admitted will be men who are spiritual and sufficiently advanced that they will run in the path of Christ our Lord to the extent that their bodily strength and the exterior occupations undertaken through charity and obedience allow.† Therefore, in what pertains to prayer, meditation, and study, and also in regard to the bodily practices of fasts, vigils, and other austerities or penances, it does not seem proper to give them any other rule than that which discreet charity dictates to them, provided that the confessor always be informed and also, when a doubt about advisability arises, the superior.† Only this will be said in general: On the one hand, they should take care that the excessive use of these practices not weaken their bodily strength and or take up so much time that they are rendered incapable of helping the neighbor spiritually according to our Institute; on the other hand, they should be vigilant that these practices not be relaxed to such an extent that the spirit grows cold and the human and lower passions grow warm.

†††††††††††† Complementary Norms, Part VI

223††††† ß3.† Hence, all Ours are urged to strive each day, personally and communally, toward an even greater integration of our spiritual life and apostolate, by which they will find God in all things, the God who is present in this world, in its struggle between good and evil, between faith and unbelief, between the yearning for justice and peace and the growing reality of injustice and strife.† We should also seek to be enriched in our own spirituality by the spiritual experiences and ethical values, theological perspectives, and symbolic expressions of other religions.

224††††† ß1.† To achieve such integration, it is crucial for us to use all means to foster that familiarity with God in both prayer and action which St. Ignatius considered absolutely essential to the very existence of our companionship.† But we cannot achieve this familiarity with God unless we regularly engage in personal prayer.

††††††††††† ß2.† The Jesuit apostle goes forth from the Exercises, at once a school of prayer and of the apostolate, a man called by his vocation to be a contemplative in action.† We must contemplate our world as Ignatius did his, that we may hear anew the call of Christ dying and rising in the anguish and aspirations of men and women.

225††††† ß1.† Therefore, the traditional hour of prayer is to be adapted so that each Jesuit, guided by his superior, takes into account his particular circumstances and needs, in the light of that discerning love which St. Ignatius clearly presupposed in the Constitutions.

††††††††††† ß2.† All should recall that the prayer in which God communicates himself more abundantly is the better prayer, whether it is mental or even vocal, whether it consists in meditative reading or in an intense feeling of love and self-giving.† Prayer thus becomes a truly vital activity whose progressive growth makes increasingly evident in us the action and presence of God, whereby we are enabled to seek, love, and serve him in all things.

††††††††††† ß3.† Ours are also to give sufficient time to preparation for prayer and to spiritual reading.

†

Tuesday, Second Week of Lent:

Communities of the Society as Faith Communities

††††††††††† For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.† For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.† (1 Cor 12:12-13)

†††††††††††† Complementary Norms, Part VI

227††††† ß2.† According to the prescriptions of their own rite, all should take part in the daily celebration of the Eucharist and consider it as the center of their religious and apostolic lives.† Communitarian celebrations of the Eucharist are encouraged, especially on days when the community can more easily gather.† Moreover, for the faithful fulfillment of their apostolic vocation, both communities and individuals should cherish daily converse with Christ the Lord in visiting the Blessed Sacrament.

††††††††††† ß3.† Likewise, so that they might increase in purity of soul and in freedom in God’s service, all should also frequently receive the sacrament of reconciliation; they should also willingly participate in community penitential services and strive to promote the spirit of reconciliation in our communities.† Each one should have his own fixed confessor to whom he ordinarily confesses.

228††††† In the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, to which they are obligated by the reception of ordination, our priests and deacons should try to pray attentively and at the appropriate time that wonderful song of praise which is truly the prayer of Christ to the Father, in union with his Body.

229††††† Twice daily the examination of conscience should be made, which, in accord with Ignatius’s intent, contributes so much to discernment regarding our entire apostolic life, to purity of heart, and to familiarity with God in the midst of an active life.† In accord with the approved tradition of the Society, it is recommended that it last a quarter of an hour.

230††††† Insofar as their apostolic character permits, Jesuit communities should come together daily for some brief common prayer.

††††††††††† GC34, Decree 10, The Promotion of Vocations

295††††††††††††††††† ††††††††††† Does our prayer remain a secret except to ourselves, or do we talk about our experience of God, including its difficulties, with others and with our brother Jesuits? Do our communities remain mysterious to all except Jesuits, or are they open and welcoming to those who seek us? Do young people see us working together, sometimes struggling but still supporting one another, praying together? Does our apostolic zeal communicate itself to others, so that they, too, will want to commit themselves to God’s service?

Wednesday, Second Week of Lent:

Eucharist, Center of Religious and Apostolic Life

††††††††††† Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad an generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.† (Acts 2:46-47a)

†††††††††††† Complementary Norms, Part VI

227††††† ß1.† Every community of the Society is a faith community that comes together in the Eucharist with others who believe in Christ to celebrate their common faith.† More than anything else, our participation at the same table in the Body and Blood of Christ makes us one companionship totally dedicated to Christ’s mission in today’s world.

†††††††††††† Constitutions, Part IV

[401]††† First of all, those who in the judgment of the superior should be ordained are to be taught how to say Mass not only with interior understanding and devotion but also with a good exterior manner, for the edification of those who hear the Mass.

†††††††††††† Complementary Norms, Part VIII

315††††† A local Jesuit community is an apostolic community, whose focus of concern is the service that Ours are bound, in virtue of their vocation, to give to people.† It is a community ad dispersionem, since its members are ready to go wherever they are sent; but it is also a koinonia, a close sharing of life and goods, with the Eucharist at its center, and a community of discernment with superiors, to whom belong the final steps in making decisions about undertaking and accomplishing missions.